The whole nation has benefited from the delay in increasing fuel duty

SIR – What an extraordinary way of putting it Philip Hammond, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, has when he says that the Government has lost £46 billion by not increasing fuel duty for nearly a decade.

It is quite the opposite direction of thought to Margaret Thatcher’s view that tax was not a ministry’s money but was still the taxpayer’s.

Mr Hammond might as well say he has lost revenue by not putting a tax on loaves of bread and pints of milk.

Furthermore, an increase in fuel tax reflects a blinkered urban view of people with good public transport, forgetting that rural inhabitants rely on their cars for getting anywhere.

Clive Cowen Ramsden, Oxfordshire

SIR – A rise in fuel duty? Jeremy Corbyn happily ticks another box.

Zog Ziegler Tirley, Gloucestershire

SIR – Motor fuel is cheaper than beer, and our roads are log jammed. The Chancellor can raise fuel duty a lot without affecting us significantly.

Michael Heaton Warminster, Wiltshire

SIR – There are far, far more cars on our inadequate roads than they can accommodate. Reduce the number on the roads to reduce the strangulation before it becomes too late.

If the Chancellor wants more revenue for the NHS, why not increase VAT on cars by 50 per cent? This will reduce demand on the NHS from people with respiratory disease, encourage more to use their legs and lose weight, and reduce injuries and deaths.

Ron Giddens Caterham, Surrey

SIR – The Chancellor’s instinct is to raise taxes, this time on fuel duty.

Increasing taxation reduces the motivation of everyday working people to enjoy their earnings and limits the ability of entrepreneurs to create new enterprises. Reducing taxation would actually generate more income for the Government to fund the NHS, police and schools.

Simon Lever Winchester, Hampshire

SIR – Government policy is to bring in electric cars at an early date. Where will the loss of fuel duty be funded from? With cars charging at night time, millions of people on cheaper Economy 7 night-rate tariffs will no doubt find these tariffs hit first.

Robert Cattle Lastingham, North Yorkshire

SIR – To create one brake horsepower of traction, the national grid needs to generate more than 1,000 watts of electrical power. An electric car as powerful as a Reliant Robin would consume over 30,000 watts.

To support 30 million electric Reliant Robins in a few decades, this country would need an exponential increase in nuclear power stations.

Brian Christley Abergele, Conwy